Friday, August 1, 2008

Things the Guidebooks Won't Tell You

There are certain things that the guidebook doesn´t tell you about Central America. Like how to get rid of fleas caught teaching in a public school, or what to do when you hear gunshots in the street. Do you duck and cover, or become so accustomed to the noise that you can calculate its distance? You´ll never hear how to get rid of an enamored student who wants to be married in Mexico.

Don´t get me wrong, these tidbits have their uses: "In Tegucigalpa, armed gang members outnumber armed police officers," and "Women should never travel alone in Honduras under any circumstances." But a little info on how to identify venomous spiders in the rainforest would be nice, too.

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